Cheer me on at TCM Oct 4!, thank you, hills, 18 miles and knee injury

Mark your calendars - cheer me on at the Twin Cities Marathon on Sunday, Oct. 4, 8am! TCM is a mere 28 days away,. I'd love to see you at a Team In Training cheer station! I'll be finishing around 2pm. More details soon - they're all in my gmail which seems to be down now. Boo. Here are the details!

Thirty-five TNT athletes - including myself - will be racing on Sunday, October 4 and could really use some TNT fans out there to support them.

Leukemia and Lymphoma staff are looking for people to man cheer stations and the finish area tent. If you can help, please contact Kim Mitchell. We will need help from 7:30 a.m. to about 2:30 p.m. Please let her know what times you are available and preference of cheer station below. We need every station to be loud, crazy and fun! TNT gear is a must!!! Wigs, crazy hats, TNT logos, signs, cowbells, etc. - the more purple and green the better!

Mile 4.5 (Cheer Captain: TBD) - 8 a.m. Located in Minneapolis at the northwest corner of Lake Calhoun near the Calhoun Beach Club (corner of Lake St. & Dean Parkway)

Mile 10 (Cheer Captain: TBD) - 8:40 a.m. Located at the intersection of Portland Avenue and 50th Street.

Mile 17 (Cheer Captain: TBD) - 9:15 a.m. The TNT cheering section will be just prior to the official mile 17 water stop of the marathon. We will set up at about 34th Street and West River Road. Park along Edmund Boulevard. It runs parallel to River Road. You will need to walk down a small hill to get to River Road. (It is about 4 blocks south of Lake Street)

Mile 22.75 (Also Mile 6.75 of the 10 miler) (Cheer Captain: TBD) - 9:35 a.m.
This is our official Honoree Cheer Station. Located at the intersection of Summit Avenue and Snelling Avenue.

Finish Area Check-In (Captain: TBD)

Wow... it's hard to believe that the marathon is less than a month away. I am increasingly excited and especially anxious. I know that my training is preparing me, but at the same time... I've never done this before. I just started running in January, for heaven's sake. But I should remember that even in that amount of time I've come so far. I remember when we first started training on lock and dam hills - we did two and I was exhausted. Our last hill team training I did six!

First things first - a tremendous thank you to fellow TNTer Jennifer Koper for her contribution towards my goals. Jennifer was a participant in the Lifetime Tri for Team in Training and a veteran of Team in Training. Thank you so much, Jennifer!

I haven't run for about a week - on my last long run a week ago, I had a lot of tightness and some pain in my outside left knee. I've been taking it easy, and even had a NP look at it when I was in for an unrelated condition (viral conjunctivitis - good times) - she suggested if it continues, to go into a sports medicine specialist. I am hoping that rest and naproxen will do the job, but I might end up in a doctor's office yet.

In any case, I went on a long-ish walk yesterday - hoping that lower intensity would be charitable to that knee. Today I ran hills - 1 mile warmup, 6 reps of hills at the cabin we're at (up and down BOTH sides of the hill - the lock and dam hills that regularly test my endurance in team runs are only ONE side of the hill!), and another mile cooldown. Still felt tightness in my left knee, and my PT friend suggested a technique to "recruit" my inner knee muscle to hopefully reduce the strain on the outer knee (thank you Jen!). I'll try that for awhile and see if it takes care of the problem.

My long run this weekend - 18 miles, which will be a new personal record - is scheduled for Tuesday. And next weekend, right before the Autumn Brew Review, I'll be completing a 21 mile run - the longest run in our training. Onward!